Merry Menagerie & Diwali Decor Arrives at Disney's Animal Kingdom for 2024 Holidays - WDW News Today

Deck the halls! It’s almost time to celebrate the holidays and Disney’s Animal Kingdom is now decked out with Merry Menagerie decorations.

There are lanterns and other decorations inspired by the Merry Menagerie puppets around Discovery Island, where Merry Menagerie takes place. Fake stylized birds have taken up roost on some of the island’s lampposts.

The rooftops of Riverside Depot and Island Mercantile are lined with white lanterns inspired by animals like owls, foxes, squirrels, and doves.

Crews aren’t done installing lanterns — large gaps between lanterns will eventually be filled in. Some lanterns are on the far corner of Discovery Trading Company.

There are more lanterns on Island Mercantile, continuing around the length of the store.

The artistic style of the lanterns matches that of the Merry Menagerie puppets. Merry Menagerie is a free-style “show” featuring live puppeteers and musicians. The life-size animal puppets wander among Animal Kingdom guests, interacting with them, while the musicians play holiday music.

Around the corner, on the walkway to Pandora – The World of Avatar, is a Merry Menagerie mural. The show doesn’t wander this far, but a PhotoPass photographer will likely be stationed here to take pictures of guests.

The mural is on a backstage gate and depicts the white puppets gathered around the Tree of Life with a colorful background reminiscent of a sunrise and the Aurora Borealis. The animals include polar bears, penguins, arctic foxes, and snowy owls. In the corners are depictions of the shop lanterns.

Watch our video of Merry Menagerie from 2023:

Merry Menagerie will return when the holiday season officially begins on November 12. There will be a Merry Menagerie merchandise collection.

Decorations for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, hang across the walkway outside the “Feathered Friends in Flight” theater in the park’s Asia section.

The decorations are on strings of light hanging between the theater and the river. They include yellow-gold garlands and lanterns.

The lanterns feature colorful, bright designs of blue, pink, green, yellow, and orange. There are strings of beads and flowers dangling among the more colorful pieces.

Diwali is celebrated from October 31 to November 1 this year, although we don’t expect any special entertainment at Animal Kingdom for the holiday.

What Walt Disney World holiday offerings are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments.

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